Friends and neighbors of 5-year-old Feno Whitten held a rally Sunday, Aug. 20, hanging blue ribbons throughout the neighborhood and writing notes for the boy who remains in a coma at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
The group hung ribbons and blue balloons and encouraged those in attendance to write notes of support for Feno. The child was found unresponsive at his home on Verdun Lane in Murrieta by Murrieta Fire and Rescue and Murrieta Police, following a call regarding a child in medical distress, Aug. 15.
When Feno was found, he had “severe injuries,” according to a Murrieta Police Department press release written by Lt. Tony Conrad.
The boy’s condition required immediate medical attention as he suffered from undisclosed, severe injuries, according to Conrad.
At the time of the call, officers on the scene determined the incident to be a case of child abuse. Feno was transported to the Temecula Valley Trauma Center.
According to the Facebook page, “Justice for Feno,” created by a group of Murrieta women in support of the boy and to keep concerned community members informed of his status, as of press time, he remains on “full system life support and artificial nutrition.”
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against the boy’s father, Benjamin Whitten, 33, and his live-in girlfriend, Jeryn Johnson, 25, Thursday, Aug. 17. Charges included willful harm of a child and infliction of great bodily injury, as well as one count of torture and one count each of child abuse with a sentence enhancing allegation of causing the child to become comatose. Their arraignment was scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 24.
Detectives interviewed Whitten and Johnson at the scene, and a search warrant was drafted for the home. Following their investigation, detectives determined the couple were responsible for the dire condition of Feno.
Whitten and Johnson were placed under arrest for child abuse and booked into the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center the same day.
Evidence from the search warrant revealed the Whitten property to be in extremely unsanitary living conditions. Eleven dogs, four cats and two fish were impounded from the home by Animal Control, Conrad reported.
According to Conrad, the boy was listed in grave condition and was airlifted to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego for specialized care.
Whitten and Johnson remain in custody at the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center and Robert Presley Detention Center, respectively, with a bail set at $1 million.
Neither Whitten nor Johnson has any record of prior felony or misdemeanor convictions in Riverside County.
According to military records, Benjamin Whitten, the boy’s father, worked as a nuclear machinist’s mate at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Detachment at Naval Base Point Loma.
Anyone with information regarding this case should contact detective Sgt. Spencer Parker at (951) 461-6364.
Kim Harris contributed to this story.
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